The #31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac is in the pit lane third in class and in the overall. More work being done on some cars. We are getting ready for battle. You have to drive at least four hours, but no more than four in a six-hour period of time. Pick your closer for who will finish. Start back timing this race. Tom Blomqvist stays in the #60 Meyer Shank Acura. Many cars on the lead lap in all classes. We just do not know when the winning pass will be made. We just have no idea. Brew some coffee, munch some peanut butter toast or a bagel or something, and get ready for action in these closing stages. Old reliable #48 for Action Express and Hendrick Motorsports is still pounding around. It takes a licking and keeps on ticking.
It looks like Jimmie Johnson could be in that car. Here comes the sun! Finally! Maybe on the #97 Mercedes, and oil line maybe came loose from hitting the curbs. The #97 Mercedes was on track but is now back in the garage. The driver says to the team, "I have no power." Hmmm. Well, the plot thickens. The #02 Ganassi Racing Cadillac is also in the garage. Hopefully the rising sun can warm the speedway. Now, #02 with Alex Lynn having issues, with a fuel pump on the car. That will put the sister CGR entry behind the eight ball just as it was with the #01 with an alternator belt issue. Earl Bamber was in the car. He says that the fuel pressure issue reared it's head again.
Here's it all again, in slow motion. Green flag! Tom Blomqvist leads over Ricky Taylor, Tristan Vautier, and Tristan Nunez. #01 is 40 laps down, Scott Dixon at the controls. Keep your head down and keep pushing. The Ganassi entries will be in an extended test session. Now then, the #15 Mercedes AMG GT3 has Austin Cindric at the wheel of it, and he raced in the Michelin Pilot Challenge event on Friday. #22 has spun, the United Autosports LMP2 entry off the road, Guy Smith, and Josh Pierson has also spun the #11 Win Autosport Oreca LMP2 as well, look. He had to take evasive action and is back in the game.
The purple glow of dawn fingers the sky in Daytona Beach. Lots of driver changes over the offseason. Rinus Veekay is chasing Ferdinand Habsburg for the lead in LMP2 and Devlin DeFrancesco has made his way back up into contention, and almost brushing the wall is Veekay! Holy smokes! Rinus Veekay says the LMP2 car is very narrow when it is twice as wide compared to an IndyCar. All kinds of traffic in GTD Pro. The #81 DragonSpeed entry was stalled in neutral on the pit lane. If the rear wheels spin on the air jacks, it is a penalty. Don't harm a mechanic. Here comes Julien Andlauer passing teammate Austin Cindric. #79 Porsche on #15 Mercedes.
Just over six and a half hours to go. The sun continues to rise just after 7AM Eastern Time. We have a 3.56 mile lap with 12 corners. Of 533 laps completed, 90 laps under yellow. That is 17% of the duration thus far. HelioCastroneves is readyt o get in the #60. In the #01 entry, Renger van der Zande is ready to go. In the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura, lurking in second spot, Alexander Rossi will get into the car. The #31 Action Express entry will have Mike Conway and Mike Rockenfeller getting into the #31 and #48 respectively. We are getting set to come to the end of the race. Have the foundation and the execution. What are the intangibles? WTR have won on raw speed and managed this race. Can the other teams like AXR or MSR or JDC do the same? Once you win your first, it takes confidence to win more and you build it up.
That is why the motto of my pals at Action Express is Expect to Win. Jump rope, get your heart rate up and get the blood flowing if you can. You just do not know when you will get into the automobile next. Blomqvist, Taylor, Vautier, Nunez, the top four. The sun has not increased the thermostat in Daytona Beach, nor has it done so in Minnesota where yours truly lives. Taylor now runs 4.5 seconds behind Blomqvist, Vautier, 5.9 seconds out, Nunez, 8.8 seconds behind. Ferdinand Habsburg leads LMP2 by 3.6 seconds over Rinus Veekay with Devlin DeFrancesco eight and a half seconds down and Scott Huffaker nearly ten seconds down.
LMP3 sees Michael Cooper over a minute ahead of Colin Braun with Sebastian Priaulx and Gabby Chaves both a lap down. We were going to get to the gaps in GTD Pro and GTD but will do so in a wee while. OK. Laurens Vanthoor for KCMG leads Daniel Serra by 7.2 seconds, Felipe Nasr by 7.9 seconds, and Jack Hawksworth by 8.2 seconds. Tristan Vautier receives a warning for contact with the #47 Cetilar Ferrari, Giorgio Sernagiotto, the Italian, at the wheel of it. Renger van der Zande now steps into the #01 entry testing for the next race at the 12 Hours of Sebring.
In GTD, Zach Robichon leads by 2.2 seconds over Jordan Pepper. Phil Ellis is 8.7 seconds down. 12 seconds to Scott Andrews in the #32 Mercedes. Toni Vilander next up. Helio Castroneves is readying himself to drive another stint in the #60 MSR Acura replacing Tom Blomqvist. Mike Conway is now back behind the wheel of the #31 Whelen Cadillac. #60 to the lane. Four tires, fuel, and a driver change as Helio Castroneves gets in. The sun is coming up at Daytona while it is still 34 degrees ambient. Castroneves in a double or triple stint. Helio Castroneves or Simon Pagenaud may be the closer for the #60 team. Mike Conway has moved to third place. Work from the checkered flag backwards.
That is how the team bosses are going to be crunching numbers and strategizing. Minimum drive time is four hours per driver. Two hours in the minimum and maximum is four hours in a rolling six-hour bloc. Drive time will be critical. Don't make a pig's breakfast out of calculations if you are an engineer. You are mentally worn out by this time. Jordan Pepper in the Mclaren is thundering away trying to move in on Zacharie Robichon as Rinus Veekay is pressing on in the #29 Racing Team Nederland entry. The #33 Sean Creech Motorsports LMP3 entry was seven minutes short and that was Malthe Jakubsen.
Sebastian Priaulx now at the wheel of it in the #33. Some left rear damage on the wing of the #33 but it is no issue. Ricky Taylor has now taken the lead trying to get four consecutive wins for Wayne Taylor Racing. Mike Conway is pouring on the steam, moving in on Helio Castroneves. When he switched from IndyCar to sports cars, he has found his feet. Tristan Nunez is very happy with his stint returning to DPi. It is a 24-hour sprint race. Every lap counts. He is learning a bunch about the car and the team in one race with Action Express. Chaos on cold tires in freezing temperatures, driving on ice. Tristan Nunez is making his 11th start in the Rolex 24.
He was a Mazda factory driver for a decade, and he still has time. He is from Florida. Ricky Taylor actually continues to lead the motor race overall. Rinus Veekay chasing Ferdinand Habsburg for LMP2 honors. 60 years of history here at the Rolex 24. Wow. Drivers have to be committed fully to running a DPi entry. Chase Elliott, when he ran with AXR last year wanted to do it, but he could not because of the commitment to the new NASCAR Cup car developing it. These teams need commitment to run for the Rolex watch. Maybe next year. The sun is up and we have a couple NASCAR races to go or the duration of a World Endurance event to go.
We have just seen a pit stop for the #79 WeatherTech Porsche.
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